The Art of Real Life Monopoly by Schaller

The Art of Real Life Monopoly by Schaller - August 2015 Scholarship Essay

Do not pass Go. Do not collect two hundred dollars.

We learn at a young age the importance of Park Place Avenue. Each Chance card, each meticulous dice roll is a gamble and stumble towards the formidable pair of Park Place and Boardwalk. As we get older we start to understand the relevance of Reading Railroad and Short Line, but we never lose sight of the real prize.

By ten years old we want to be the banker; to show off the developed math prowess that mixed fractions and double decimal division has introduced. We want to buy all the property we land on and place a crisp Monopoly bill into a snug resting place with its surplus, carbon copies. We want to win. We want to make money. We don’t want to end up in debt. We don’t want to miss the opportunity to collect two hundred dollars.
At eighteen I’ve discovered that Monopoly is a comical analogy for what real life money management entails. It’s complicated, people pretend there is calculated strategy involved, and it’s a long haul. This far in the game I’ve only discovered how much more there is to unearth. In a short few weeks I will be thrust into an “adult life” living on my own, but even then I will most likely never see a water bill for another two to three years. I forget the password to my online bank account every time I attempt to access it every six months. I don’t understand why the correct answer to “Debit or Credit?” varies during individual purchases. I don’t know how much my phone bill costs and I still have to pull out an old receipt in order to remember my account number.

I feel paralyzed by the sheer vastness of my monetary future. I have been homegrown into blissful ignorance thanks to the phrase “Do what you love. Love what you do” and made unawares of the real nature of lurking power bills and foul mortgages. I’ve been taught that “money can’t buy you love,” but have never been reminded that money can buy you out of student loans and credit card debt and kitchen-counter bills. I’ve been lucky enough to have parents that want to continue supporting me and ease me into the process of managing myself, but as a soon-to-be college student, it seems like I have so little time to learn.

The ability to aptly manage money is a developed skill. By the time I am a college graduate, it will be too late to relearn the hardened, ingrained habits I developed in my formative years. The implementation of Money Management as high school curriculum would be noteworthy for every student. Regardless of race, background, culture or even interest, managing money becomes inevitable. Thanks to skyrocketing prices of electronics coupled with fluctuating house values, it’s hard to pocket money, pay the bills, AND plan for retirement. With each increasing year comes increasing responsibility, but I believe that learning about money management early on would alleviate the stress of discovering the ups and downs of Benjamin and Andrew later in life.

Teaching high schoolers the value of money is a long-term benefit. They need to know the reality, but also the plausibility of earning and making money. Not everyone will be able to obtain a Park Place Avenue, however everyone does need be the banker and truly understand the ins and outs of their bank account. Money management is not a shot in the dark or a lucky roll of the dice like Monopoly coins it to be. Truly being able to crunch the numbers and balance a checkbook is key to monetary success in the simplicity of life. I believe the inclusion of money management in high school curriculum would allow for more adults to pass Go and collect those two hundred dollars.